Wolves Make Liverpool Aware, Winning Trophy Isn't That Easy

LIVERPOOL, SUNDAY — Despite a 30-point difference and a 16-place gap, Liverpool experienced one of the toughest matches in the English Premier League this season when they hosted Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday (16/2/2025) at Anfield Stadium. A narrow 2-1 victory helped "The Reds" maintain their seven-point lead over Arsenal.

Initially, Liverpool seemed unlikely to have difficulty facing Wolves, who are in 17th place or one position above the relegation zone. Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah had helped Liverpool take the lead in the 15th and 37th minutes. Everything was going well for Liverpool in the first half.

The two goals were in line with the expected goals (xG) of 1.76 from 10 shots. Liverpool recorded 53 percent possession as a confirmation of their dominant performance against Wolves.

The visiting team only produced six shots, resulting in one shot on target. The only shot by a Wolves player that forced Liverpool goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, to make a save was a long-range shot by right wing-back, Nelson Semedo, just 17 minutes into the match.

After the halftime break, the direction of the game seemed to reverse the standings. Liverpool became a mediocre team, while Wolves represented a top-tier club. The cause was the absolute dominance demonstrated by Matheus Cunha and his teammates.

Wolves were able to create 10 shots. One of them resulted in a consolation goal scored by Cunha through a powerful curling shot in the 67th minute.

Liverpool failed to create a single shot in the second half. It was the first time The Reds failed to shoot in the opponent's defensive zone in a half of an English Premier League match in the era of Coach Arne Slot.

Virgil van Dijk, the captain and central defender of Liverpool, admitted that his team was unable to maintain their dominance in the game against Wolves. He also praised Wolves' fighting spirit, which managed to awaken Liverpool from their "slumber" through Cunha's strike.

"We played very badly. We couldn't keep the ball as well as we have done in the past," Van Dijk was quoted as saying by the BBC.

"We like to dominate for 90 minutes, but in the Premier League, Wolves always try to create dangerous moments. That makes us have to be careful. We kept fighting and we could get the three points," added Van Dijk.

Wolves manager Vitor Pereira said Wolves had a good second-half performance that could help them fight back from relegation. He saw the Wolves squad playing with personality, courage and a clear identity.

"Wolves woke up after the break. We played without fear, we played the ball, we pressed and created problems. This is what we have to do in the future, not just in one half but in two halves of the game," Pereira told Sky Sports.

Despite Salah's increasingly unrivalled influence at Liverpool with 23 goals, Slot was forced into a number of emergency substitutions to dampen Wolves' aggressive play in the second half.

Ibrahima Konate started Slot's substitution. Konate was replaced by Jarrel Quansah in the 46th minute. Slot's decision to take Konate off was based on the red card the French national team defender received after a duel with Cunha.

Almost half an hour passed, Slot pulled two players who had declined in the second half, namely Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota in the 64th minute. Conor Bradley and Darwin Nunez were brought in to add quality to the game in the right wing-back and striker positions.

After conceding, it was Diaz's turn to be pulled out by Slot to bring in defensive midfielder, Wataru Endo. Endo's presence made Liverpool play with three central midfielders in a row. The role of the Japanese national team captain was to thicken the "fortress" in front of Liverpool's penalty box.

Endo battled with Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister to quell Wolves' ambition to shoot from outside the penalty box. Endo also made a crucial block in the 90+3 minute which made his teammates take turns hugging him, including Alisson.

Slot again acknowledged his team's mental strength to overcome a difficult situation in the second half. According to Slot, the Liverpool squad showed strong provisions to win the Premier League trophy this season.

"If you want to achieve something, it's not just about getting the ball away from the defence or Mo (Salah) scoring a goal. The chance of winning is also determined by the ability of the team to defend," Slot said as reported by the BBC.

The Dutch tactician also praised the fighting spirit of his players who were able to maintain the fierce competition with Arsenal. When "The Cannons" won 15 points in a league-free trend, Liverpool were still able to maintain the points difference with them.

"With their good performances, we had a seven-point lead over Arsenal and that's still the case now. So, that's not just how good they are, but also how positive what we're doing," he said.